Bang
by DreadfulStar
Summary: A mysterious student no one else seems to notice sparks Speed's attention. He seems to be a good friend but X worries about the direction Speed is heading. Insanity?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not condone any of the actions portrayed in this work of fiction. **

The lunch room was packed like any regular Thursday afternoon. Students walked busily down the isles while some students hung out in groups. A pack of four sat off to the side at their own table. Lucy, Conor, X, and of course, Speed seemed to be the only ones actually sitting at a table. Conor was tapping away on his tablet while Lucy read a book. The brothers were just conversing.

Speed only paid half of his attention to X. He was partly falling asleep from staying up all night trying to study. By study, it meant read notes for a few minutes then get on Tumblr, or Twitter, or look through the news feed. X softly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Are you even listening to me?" X asked him after Speed looked at him.

"Not really. I'm tired and I don't really care for the topic," He replied, waking up.

"Oh well, you are missing out. I thought it was pretty cool," He shrugged. Speed laughed.

"What were you talking about again?" He grinned.

X rolled his eyes and got up, "I'm going to find my girlfriend."

Speed didn't insist on him staying, so he left. While Speed went back to gazing around the cafeteria. A boy with short, soft tannish-brown hair stood with crossed arms by the end of the row. He held an odd smirk of his face. Speed pondered for a minute. He knew everyone in first lunch. Not all personally, but he knew everyone's face. It had to be a new kid. Why would a kid start on a Thursday of all days?

He wasn't pondering for long when Lucy addressed him, "You okay? You look like a confused puppy right now?"

"Oh, I'm fine," He replied, looking back to the boy who had disappeared, "Just thought Thursday is a strange day for a new kid to begin having classes..."

Lucy gave him a slightly worried but humorous look, "Not sure I want to know how you got on that topic or idea of all topics. We don't get new kids on Thursdays. We rarely even get new kids."

Speed was about to say he just saw a new kid when the bell cut him off. Lucy and Conor jumped up to go to their next class. Speed passed for a second before something whipped across the back of his head. Annalise snickered at him, holding her purse up high.

"Hey, what do you even have in there! Bricks?" Speed exclaimed staring at the bag. X shook his head at her. Annalise shrugged.

"Why should you care what's in it? Not like it matters what I hit you with," She smiled sadistically, a bit of playfulness hidden underneath.

X walked on without her, "Leave him alone, we have class Annalise."

They left and so did Speed.

Class was average: boring lecture, homework, then study time. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Professor Aniskov ranted about something Speed wasn't paying attention to. It really was an average day.

Lucy talked to Conor. Speed turned to face them when something hit the back of his head. A small paper airplane landing beside him. He picked it up and looked at it. On the side an ornately drawn X was etched across the side. It was a real mystery of who it was from.

He turned around and looked at X, a half-grin on his face. X laughed softly. Speed shook his head then turned back around. The door opened slightly. The boy from earlier strode right across the stage and took a seat in the front. His feet were immediately propped up on the desk, yet Aniskov said nothing about it. Who in the world was this kid?

No one else seemed to notice this kid stroll in, making Speed even more curious about him. Then again, the class was half asleep anyway. They may just be too tired to try and care about him. Lucy poked Speed's shoulder. He glanced at her.

"What are you staring at?" She asked.

Speed nodded in the direction of the kid, "The new kid. Just came in. Front row."

Lucy looked forward to where he indicated. She craned her neck, searching with interest, "I don't see anyone. You'll have to point him out some other time," She shrugged.

The bell rang. Students jolted awake and others drowsily made their way out into the isles before leaving. Speed hesitated, lingering. He just stared at where the kid used to be.

He just shook his head, mentally rolling his eyes at himself. There was no reason to be so intrigued by the kid. It was getting weird. So, Speed left the class, a few paces behind Lucy and Conor.

Speed saw him pass in the hall, generally when his annoyance tolerance was at the peak. That made it significantly difficult to talk to him. No matter what, it wouldn't turn out too great.

All Speed could do was wonder. Why did he even bother in wondering about it? He had nothing much better to do at the time. The races continued but he was not allowed to participate. No real spark in his day. He supposed it was just something to do.

Just about a week and some prior, he and X were both driving recklessly without permission and caused a wreck, resulting in himself getting knocked out for almost two days. No one bothered him during the following days, but that went out the window quickly.

Annalise slowly got worse. Her and her two hell-bringers agrivated him whenever possible. It was mostly small things: kicking his chair, chewing gum loudly in his ear, drawing on his notebooks, name calling. Occasionally, he would be shoved or tripped. It was a malicious game they played. There didn't seem to be any negative downsides to the three, and Speed just went on with his day.

X never fully approved, yet he aided in his own way. He let Annalise do it, turning a blind eye on it. Speed suspected the older brother should be more protective, which he generally was, but not when it came to his girlfriend's own antics. It was free game.

The physical harassment X did speak out against. Not after an injury should someone start taking blows again. It might 'screw something up' he stated. It just meant it didn't happen with X around.

With all this, focusing on some random kid he saw in the hall seemed like a highlight if anything. It was a bit of fun trying to figure out who the-kid-that-doesn't-exist was.

It was an entire week before he finally spoke to the kid. It was right after two students in his fifth hour mocked him for nearly failing two quizzes in class. They had been easy quizzes, he had just zoned out. His mind was elsewhere.

The teen strode up to him, grinning a wide smirk. Everyone left already, just leaving a sulking Speed and this kid. Speed looked at him with bright eyes. Finally, he got to meet him. The kid scratched his neck, "You just let them do that?"

"Do what... Oh joke around? I don't complain. I just let them and ignore it. It doesn't bother me that much."

"I know that's a lie," The kid spoke quickly. How would he know?

"Well, fine it does bother me... A little. But there's no harm in it."

"If I was you," he grinned as if he had just heard the best secret, "I wouldn't let them do that. I'd stand up to them."

Speed rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Anyway-"

"Alec. My name is Alec. You are Speed Racer."

"I didn't even finish my sentence!" Speed blinked. The kid was weirding him out just slightly.

"Oh, oops. Either way. I answered your question and eliminated the introduction. You're welcome."

Speed slung his backpack over his shoulder. His feet tapped across the floor as he started to walk away. He pondered out loud, staring at the kid, "I never asked you my question."

Speed shook his head, looking at the door. He walked farther turning back around, "Alec, so..."

The kid was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Now with the help of a fellow writer!**

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><p>The next week Professor Winn decided to assign another history project. It seemed the class was back on that odd history kick. What did the American Revolution have to do with racing? Nothing, but it was still a functioning academy. On the projector, the assignment read about the 1990's. It seemed the requirement was a five page essay on a significant event from the 90's that took place in America.<p>

Professor Winn sighed, "As you students can see, this essay must be five pages," the students groaned, "and it is due in two weeks. There is no restriction as long as it is between January 1st, 1990 and December 31st, 1999. It must have been something important and widely known."

Lucy had immediately decided to do politics, and Conor wanted to do either the OJ conviction or the Oklahoma City Bombing. X for some reason decided to do the Jeffrey Dahmer trials.

"Dahmer happened in the 90's right?" X tapped on Speed's shoulder. Speed glanced up at him.

"I think the trials did so... Do you even know anything about Dahmer?"

"He ate people right?" X scoffed.

Speed blinked, "There's more to it than that but yeah."

The clock ticked close to the end of class after everyone was allowed the rest of class to start research. Speed impatiently opened and closed tabs on his tablet. He couldn't think of anything to do. Conor had left to check out books from the library. Speed judged ten minutes was a good enough time to at least browse books. He left, wondering to the library. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, not in a menacing way, just lightly. He thought it was X at first until he saw Alec next to him.

Alec removed his hand, "So what'd you decide on. Or haven't decided on?"

"I got nothing."

"Of course you haven't. I'm doing the Columbine Massacre," His grin faded into an awkward smirk. Speed gave him a quizzical glare.

"Don't look so happy while saying that," he shivered, "well. I guess whatever we choose will be bad. The 90's may be the last great decade but it was full of bad stuff. And Columbine. I think I watched a documentary on that. Or at least part of it... I fell asleep."

"There are a lot of stuff on it. It's a fun thing to research. I already know stuff about it. Really interesting."

"I'm sure it is," Speed sighed, "But that's not helping me any. I guess I could do... that Bill Clinton scandal."

Alec nodded, going silent as they ascended the stairs. The library came in sight. Speed figured Alec could help him find a book to read, "Hey have you-" No one was on the stairs with him, "Damn kid is Houdini."

* * *

><p>During his lunch breaks, now Speed sat quietly in the library. He typed out what he could on the essay. Lucy had him spellcheck stuff for her and Speed was helping Alec with his own essay. Alec went far i depth with his report. He focused on causes and leading up to it, barely spending any time on the actual massacre. Speed supposed that worked too, but Winn might not like it. Alec shrugged off it, saying she's going to get what she's going to get.<p>

Alec propped his feet up on the desk, pulling the bill of his cap down, "Wake me up when you're done."

Speed shook his head. Was Alec his friend? Seemed like it. Annalise strode up behind Speed, grabbing his hair and pulling it back.

"Hi Speedo. You actually writing that stupid essay? I'm just having Stan write it for me," She let go. Jesse nudged his twin with a smile.

Speed huffed, "I don't have goons to do everything for me, Princess."

"You're missing out," She laughed loud, earning her a glare from the librarian, "It's lame in here. I'm leaving. Jared, Jesse, come on."

Her little pack left.

"How do you even stand her?" Alec asked quietly from his place. He turned his baseball cap backwards, sitting up. Speed watched her leave. He sighed, as he did often now. She stressed him out sometimes but it didn't feel like it mattered.

He scooted forward in his seat, closer to the table, "She's a nuisance but not a real problem. Besides, my brother is dating her. I have to deal with it."

"It's pretty ridiculous for you just to be passive about it, but oh well. You aren't me, I'm not you," He chuckled to himself. The bell rang. Alec slammed his feet down to the ground, standing up swiftly, "See you in class."

Speed left to go too class too.

* * *

><p>At one point, he passed Alec in the hall. It was the first time he ever saw Alec wearing a black coat. Speed approached him, drying off his face. Alec asked what happened, noticing his clothes were wet too.<p>

"I got tripped into a puddle," He nibbled on his lip, feeling ashamed for some reason. He sighed, starting to get angry over it. He tried to distract himself, "That's a nice trench coat you have."

"It's actually a duster. Very similar though. I understand the confusion," Speed flinched. He knew that. Now he looked liked an idiot.

Alec removed it from his shoulders, taking it off. He tossed it at Speed, who caught it. Alec told him to keep it. It actually kept off the ground when Speed put it on. He hadn't noticed before the height difference.

"See ya," Alec left.

"Oh uhh, bye? Thanks?" Speed replied frantically, but he had already turned down the hall.

* * *

><p>Two weeks went by awfully fast. It was time to turn in the essays. Speed wasn't too confident in it, himself. Lucy told him it was pretty good. Each student had to present their information in front of the class. Alec went nearly first, showing a powerpoint. The long leather duster Alec was wearing caught his attention, it was just like his. Where did he get them? Winn didn't seem to appreciate it. The rest of the students went in a blur. He waited to be called to go, but it never came. He turned to Conor after he came back to his seat.<p>

"Why hasn't Winn called me?"

"She did, Speed. You were like right after Mitch. He went first. You've been acting off lately but I didn't think you were losing time," Conor commented quietly.

"I'm not..." His stomach turned. He hoped he hadn't.

"Maybe you should see the doctor again, he said if anything started-"

He cut him off, "No, I'm fine!" Conor quit the conversation.

"But your fashion choice made Winn look scared."

He was wearing the coat Alec gave him. He didn't know how it and the Bill Clinton scandal made a scary mix. If anything it was Alec in trouble. X came down a row and sat by Speed, "Nice presentation by the way. I like the coat. Extra touch."

Speed scratched his neck, "Uhh thanks. I liked Alec's though on Columbine."

X paused, furrowing his brow. Conor turned and looked at Speed too. X shook his head, "Dude, you did that."

"No I did Clinton. What are you talking about?" Speed replied quickly, feeling scared himself.

"Lucy did Clinton," X felt his forehead, "What's going on with you? Are you feeling alright? Did you hit your head again?"

"I'm fine. I think I am at least."

* * *

><p><strong>Whoops. Anyway. It's funny how she has no clue what this show even is but she's giving me advice on story elements. <strong>

**Please review? If not there's no point in writing more.**


	3. Chapter 3

In a strange state of denial, Speed came to the class the next day. Professor Winn and Aniskov had worked together all night and morning to grade the papers. Because this class was early in the morning, the papers were graded first. The papers were handed back to the students in order they presented. The moment Speed received his, he flipped through it. The title was brazenly bold, large on the front.

'Columbine High School Shooting'

Speed shook his head, looking up at the corner. His name clearly was typed in the corner. Alec! Alec wrote his name on the essay instead.

Then he noticed the red grade across the front: 'A+. Great essay, great details, little worrisome of the way you portrayed the killers. Please see counsellor.'

After the class ended, he skittishly approached Prof Winn. He showed her the paper.

"This isn't mine."

"Yes it is. You turned that in yourself, and presented it. I'm not sure what you are trying to get at. It was a fabulous essay, possibly the best in the class. I'm a little worried however. You suddenly started acting different after your accident, now you show up wearing that black coat on the day you presented this. I've been told you have been seen talking to empty rooms. Something is obviously up. Please go to the counsellor."

Speed shook is head, the information hitting a brick wall in his mind. This wasn't true at all. He certainly didn't talk to himself. He was most certainly not going to see the counsellor. It seemed like the world was trying to make him seem crazy.

Which, he wasn't.

The date set for him to go see Ms Smith was tomorrow evening at 3:00 pm. He wasn't eager to go see her. He had no choice.

He woke up groggily, aware something felt different. His soft hair was dry, frayed against his face and neck. He reached up and felt it, thinking about what could've happened.

Quietly, he snuck out into the bathroom to see. The moment he looked in the mirror, he couldn't suppress his gasp. In the mirror, he saw himself, except his hair now was bleached to a pale blond. The door eased open behind him to reveal a laughing Alec.

"This isn't funny! My hair is white now! Did you do this?" Speed angrily shouted.

Alec's laughter died down, "Sorta. You look great, man."

"Fix it! I have to see Ms Smith. I look like an idiot."

Alec shook his head. Speed had to let it grow out. Dyeing it again would fry his hair. His hair was bouncy, curling outwards at the tips. Alec took off his baseball cap, plopping it down on Speed's head.

"You need it more than me. Try brushing it," Alec heartlessly shrugged, leaving an exasperated Speed to stare in the mirror with defeat.

The return to the dorm was an adventure on its own. Speed carefully tried to have soft footsteps, knowing he would pass his brother's room. Though he thought he was in the clear, X cracked his door the second he walked by, watching. The door then shut, behind it a teen left to message his uncle.

The racer paused outside his own room, afraid of Conor behind awake. He took a deep breath, sliding open the door and slinking inside, diving back into bed. He threw the cap to the ground, tired suddenly. He curled up, head under the covers, and went back to sleep.

**Sorry about the wait and the short chapter. I've been rushed with work and school. Plus I'm in the theatre production of Little Wonen. I'll be very busy. So until then, here is something of a chapter. I'm not dead and will not let this story die. **

**I promise.**


	4. Chapter 4

Conor's frightened screech is what woke Speed in the morning. He stretched his legs and rolled around, "Conor, what is it?"

The mechanic blinked, realizing that Speed, indeed, _was _there. When he awoke earlier, all he had seen was the blond hair. This made him assume Speed was not in his bed but instead some stranger. It was him but the hair wasn't his. It took a few seconds for Conor to let the scared state settle. Speed stared back until Conor talked.

"You... but... blond. Your hair is... When did you...?" Conor asked quickly, partially thinking he was dreaming. It was only seven hours since he had last seen his friend, a period of time that was assumed to be for sleeping not dyeing hair.

"What? Oh yeah..." Speed raised up a hand to brush through his hair. The blond locks fell back in place, "I woke up last night with it blond. Alec did it... I think... He was vague."

Conor shifted at the name, "Speed... Do you really think it's possible for someone to bleach someone's hair while they are sleeping, or at all, without anyone noticing? I am sure it's possible but... Really?"

"My hair is blond. I didn't do it. Someone had to!" Speed insisted.

The redhead paused, drawing in his feet and looking away, "I suppose sleep walking is possible but it's such a complex task... You are right. I don't know how but you have to be..."

"It's weird but Alec accomplished it," Speed shrugged.

"Alec," Conor blinked, glancing back to Speed with a sigh, "He's weird on his own. I don't know him, especially as you do. Never actually met him either, but he's up to something. It just doesn't add up. This is weird, too weird," Conor swung his feet over the edge of the bed.

Speed got up as well, scratching his head, "It's not the usual, but it's a prank. A joke, you know? The twins do worse to each other!"

The statement was true. Conor took it and agreed, having a few problems with it,though, "Alec seems a bit cruel spirited, though. I don't like the idea of that having influence on you."

Speed, taking offence to this, scoffed, "It doesn't!"

He grabbed his Converse, slipped them on, then grabbed his coat. One last thing, he put on the cap Alec gave him and headed out the door, ignoring the inquiries of Conor about where he had gotten it. Speed no longer desired to talk to him, at least not for the present time.

* * *

><p>In ten minutes Speed would have to go see Ms Smith, and not eagerly at that. Waiting those minutes away, he stood in front of the full body mirror in the restroom. Comb in hand, he slowly and methodically styled his hair in the mirror. He had overreacted earlier when calling his hair white, it was mostly the bright lights to blame, because it was more of a dirty blond. Anyone seeing him could tell that his hair used to be dark brown.<p>

He wet it so it wouldn't fray outwards at the tips like it kept trying to do. His shorter bangs wouldn't lay right when combed to the side, only wanting to cooperate if parted in the middle. Speed didn't care for it all that badly but it worked. His hair, when dried, fluffed out still, so he shoved on the cap.

It kept down the hair, despite how the rest that was not under still was fluffy but that couldn't be helped. The bill felt awkward, heavy on his head. He didn't like the shade in his eyes either. Like Alec, he removed the baseball cap and wore it backwards. Speed smiled just a little, remarking of how different he seemed.

Three minutes.

Taking one last look, hoping he looked presentable, he swished the coat back and forth with glee watching it swing to the sides before walking out with his hands in his pockets.

* * *

><p>The racer was hesitant to go into the office. He took a deep breath, assuring himself that he had nothing to worry about. Ms Smith's door was open since she was waiting for him. So he walked in. Without looking up, she told him to have a seat. He took a seat, carefully looking at her.<p>

In her hands was the report he wrote for Winn's class. She had told him she wanted to report back, but he never thought it was to give it to Ms Smith. The pages softly flipped back and forth in the silence until Ms Smith glanced up to Speed. The report was then laid on the table, she leaned back in her chair, and she stared at him.

"I take it back, please stand up."

The request was a bit shocking. It was simply odd. Without any room to argue, he complied. His duster flowed down to the floor, swishing above his ankles.

The woman examined him, glancing from his hat, to his hair, to the coat, then back up. She told him to sit back down then to remove his hat, which he did.

Once again she stared at his hair, scrutinised it, then stared at her computer screen that was hidden from the boy's view.

She cleared her throat and clasped her hands, "Let me clear with this, you look like Dylan Klebold right now, Mr Racer, and whether or that that was intentional doesn't matter. You are acting unusual and it is worrying your friends and teachers. Now let's begin with you, is there anything we should know about? Anything bothering you?"

He blinked. Then again, "No, nothing bothering me. And I don't look like Dylan!" He crossed his arms defiantly. Ms Smith just sighed and swivelled the computer screen around so he could see. It was a photo of the Columbine shooters, taken from the Rampart Range video. It took Speed by surprise, especially sine he could also see his reflection in the screen. He did and it was mostly because of the hair.

"Oh... but... I didn't want to bleach my hair, my friend did it as a prank. I didn't even think about what he looked like. And...you know..." He muttered, feeling like he was in trouble.

"Your friend? That quite a cruel thing to do to a friend," She told him, turning the screen back to her and closing out the browser, "Next thing."

The topic was dragged back to the report. The red message on the front page stared back at him. He honestly didn't write it, but he decided not to drag Alec down with him. In this decision, he had to claim all responsibility, "Yeah, that."

"You do realise that this essay is fabulous, in depth, thoughtful, and very generously factitious with a plethora of citations... It's a great piece of work however... you tended to refer to the shooters as if you knew them."

"After all that... uhh.. research it felt like it?" He shrugged, not sure what to say.

The counsellor brushed back her hair, glancing down to the pages. She hunted for a section, "You mention something about how Eric and Dylan shared gloves during the massacre, which was a deep, hold on, 'symbol of the bond between them'. It was a bit odd to point out. I'm glad you mentioned the victims in detail, but you refer to the shooters as the main victims and this entire thing has gone haywire, do you understand how this comes across?" She asked quietly.

What? "I just meant that without.. or that.. I don't really know. I was rushing to finish and I got things worded funny. I'm sorry, I should've proofread that better than I had."

This made her relax in her chair, the stern pout ease up into a smile. Speed was calm, innocent with his speech, and a good kid. Everyone knew that. He got in trouble often, usually from his stubbornness, but the kid couldn't do much harm.

"You can go after one more thing. Your friends are worried about someone you've been talking to. Is that right?"

"Alec? He's no harm. He's more of a chihuahua. All bark and can't do anything," He grinned casually, thinking of how offended Alec would be if he knew he had been referred to as a chihuahua.

"Alright, I see. What's his last name?" The student database was pulled up so she could look up the student, "And is he the same friend who bleached your hair?"

"Yes... and," _What was his last name?_ He didn't even know the kid's name! What a friend, "I never asked him what his full name was. I haven't known him for very long," Speed admitted.

Ms Smith groaned, closing out the browser again, "You can go. Remember that I'm always here if you need to talk. And Speed," He stopped from where he was, almost out the door, "I really do like your coat. Leather is nice. Oh! And don't wear hats in the building."

He smiled, bid her goodbye, then took off the hat before leaving. The moment he turned out of sight, his smile dropped and his countenance blossomed into anger.

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><p><strong>If I told you how much I wanted to say 'wrath' you wouldn't believe me. It wouldn't have fit. And if you haven't seen the Rampart Range video, it can be found on Youtube! <strong>

**Happy Holidays guys. I hope you all have a great day, read and review, and all that fun stuff. **

**I love you guys.**


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